The present invention relates to a protective cover for a connector, which is mounted on a housing opening in the connector incorporated in a wire harness, for example, for protecting a plurality of terminals within a housing from dust or dirt and the like during period of time until being assembled on a vehicle, and the like.
Conventionally, a protective cover for a connector, of the kind referred to above has been known as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. SHO 63-16149 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. HEI 1-22232. The protective cover disclosed in each of these publications is fitted in a hood section of a connector and is mounted on a connector body through bolts and nuts. Accordingly, it is possible to insure that the protective cover is fixed to the connector body.
Fundamentally, however, the protective cover is one which is temporarily mounted on the connector body during a period of time until a wire harness is assembled into the vehicle. Accordingly, it is better that mounting and demounting of the protective cover is easy.
Since the conventional protective cover described above is mounted on the connector body by the use of the bolts and the nuts, it is required to execute tightening and demounting of the nuts when the protective cover is mounted and demounted. Accordingly, the conventional protective cover is troublesome or complicated in mounting and demounting thereof. For this reason, it has conventionally been desired to improve a mounting structure of the protective cover.
By the way, electrical contact portions of male terminals projecting within a hood section of a multiple connector are arranged in the predetermined proper arrangement. However, there is a case where the electrical contact portions of some of the male terminals are deformed so as to interfere with the proper arrangement when the male terminals are inserted in a terminal accommodating chamber. When this connector is covered by a protective cover in such a manner that some of terminals are deformed, and such connector is transported and is mated with the partner connector without noticing the deformation of the electrical contact portions, the deformed electrical contact portions of the male terminals cannot mate with female terminals of the partner connector so that a failure of an electrical connection occurs.
Therefore, an operator looks into the hood section to inspect the deformation of the electrical contact portions. However, it is very difficult to detect visually whether or not the arrangement of the electrical contact portions is a proper one.